The Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues its withdrawal from Nigeria’s external reserves as it continues its intervention in the forex market.
Data obtained from its website shows that the reserves stood at $39.42 billion on Wednesday, May 4th 2022 compared to the $39.81 billion it stood on April 21.
What this means is that the reserves dropped in two weeks by $384 million.
The latest development follows the announcement from the federal government that the balance in the excess Crude Account, as of April 27, 2022, stood at a paltry $35.372 million.
The ECA is a savings account retained by the Federal Government and is funded by the difference between the market price of crude oil and the budgeted price of crude oil as contained in the appropriation bill.
Tolu Ogunlesi, the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media in a recent tweet to defend the current level of ECA said, “For those pointing out ECA was $2.1B in 2015, keep in mind $1 billion went to security purchases (incl 12 Super Tucano)
“Part went to Paris Club Refunds to States and a substantial portion invested into the Sovereign Wealth Fund/NSIA.”
The President’s aide also noted that the ECA was once $20 billion in 2009 before depleting to $2 billion in 2015.